Eureka AirSpeed AS1001AX Review

Introduction

Design & Usability

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Bulky and heavy, this vacuum may not be ideal for houses full of furniture or with lots of stairs.

The Eureka AirSpeed AS1001AX isn’t going to win any design awards, though it does have some neat touches. A small magnet guides the pet brush into its holder, and the filter is very easy to clean, for instance. Controls are all over the place though, and never at your fingertips. The on/off switch is a foot pedal, the floor height adjuster is on top of the front of the cleaner, and there’s also a knob to choose between the floor brush and extension wand. Remember to turn that knob from “floor” to “hose” or vice-versa, otherwise you won’t get any suction.

It has a convenient carry handle on the back, but that doesn’t change the fact that it weighs 17 lbs. The Eureka’s 27-foot power cord is of average length, but it's not retractable, so get used to winding it around posts on the back of the unit. There’s a miniature floor brush that stores on top of the cleaner, and two smaller attachments sit in a holder behind the handle.

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Features & Performance

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As long as you don't have tall carpet, this vacuum will do a fine job.

On berber carpet and wood floors, the Eureka AirSpeed AS1001AX did an exemplary job. It also did pretty well with light debris cleanup, though thick carpet performance wasn’t ideal, regardless of what messes we tried to contain. Across all floor types, however, you may forget you even have a pet, as this vacuum does a great job getting up all fur and hair. The separate pet hair brush gives the same level of performance for cleaning upholstery.

If you do have kids, pets, or a spouse who just wants to get some reading in, you can bet they’ll all be bothered when you turn on the Eureka AirSpeed. It’s not so bad on bare floors, but the brushroll has a leonine snarl to it. With it on, the Eureka was quite loud, like the cries of the very children and animals its sure to upset.

Conclusion

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Nothing exceptional, but a really solid, cheap vacuum nevertheless

The Eureka AirSpeed AS1001AX isn’t the world’s best vacuum, but it’s pretty darn good for around $100. If you’re on a budget, skip the stick vacs, compacts, and dust busters, and head straight for the AirSpeed.

Science Introduction

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If you’ve got vast expanses of berber, this is a great vacuum. It struggles with thicker carpets, and uprights can sometimes be too heavy for softer wood floors, so other vacuums may be a better choice if you’ve got a more varied flooring surface.

Dirt & Debris Cleanup

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Keep it off high pile carpet, and you'll be fine.

The Eureka AirSpeed AS1001AX picked up about a quarter of the dirt and dust we put down for the long carpet test. That’s better than other budget vacuums out there, but we’ve seen some more expensive cleaners suck up as much as 75%. On short carpet, the Eureka AirSpeed AS1001AX excelled. It cleaned up more than 97% of the test dirt we put down, which is among some of the best performance we’ve ever seen. If you’ve got lots of berber carpets, this may be your vacuum.

It didn’t do as well on wood floor cleaning as it did on short carpet, though. That’s because the wood floor setting lifts the cleaner head up a small amount to keep it from scratching wood floors. These few millimeters of lift kept the vacuum from powering through all the dirt we put down. The Eureka AirSpeed AS1001AX suffered at lifting large debris, too, such as coins. It had no trouble capturing rice and noodles, however, regardless of floor type.

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Noise & Efficiency

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The harsh, grinding floor brush will make your kid scream and your dog howl. You won’t be able to hear it, though, having gone deaf from cleaning with this vacuum.

It wasn't so much the quantity of sound—76 decibels—this vacuum emitted as the quality. It snarled and growled its way through our tests, calling to mind the phrase about holding a tiger by its tail.

While we're at it, a warning: Don’t dry your hair and vacuum from the same outlet, as you’ll blow a fuse. The Eureka AirSpeed AS1001AX uses a whopping 1358 watts—not unheard of for a reasonably decent cleaner with a powered brushroll, but still a lot.

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